THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Cal Lutheran women's soccer team is headed back to the SCIAC Tournament championship game, as the top-seeded Regals delivered a dominant 4-1 victory over Chapman Wednesday night at William Rolland Stadium.
After a tightly contested opening half, Cal Lutheran broke through in the 43rd minute.
Keira Hazard put the Regals on the board, sending a shot off the crossbar that bounced across the goal line and into the net.
Amira Walker was credited with the assist as Cal Lutheran carried a 1-0 advantage into halftime.
The Regals came out of the break ready to take control, and the offense quickly found another gear.
Jessica Sprouse doubled the lead in the 59th minute, taking on a Chapman defender one-on-one before creating space and curling a finish into the top-right corner for her seventh goal of the season.
Just six minutes later, Hazard turned provider, delivering a corner kick that
Chloe Smith headed home in the 65th minute to extend the advantage to 3-0. The Regals added another in the 69th minute as
Isabella Haulman finished with a behind-the-back kick off an assist from
Sawyer Frye to push the lead to four.
Chapman found the back of the net in the 85th minute, but the Regals had already done the damage. Cal Lutheran closed out the remaining minutes with contributions from throughout the lineup, finishing the match with a group made up entirely of reserves on the field as the team celebrated its return to the championship game.
Cal Lutheran controlled the match from start to finish, outshooting Chapman 20-12 and putting 11 shots on target. The Regals also held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks. Goalkeeper
Kira Kasarda recorded four saves, while the defense limited the Panthers to just five shots on goal.
With the victory, Cal Lutheran improves to 16-1-3 overall and remains unbeaten in SCIAC play at 11-0-2. The Regals have now won 13 consecutive matches and will make their second straight appearance in the SCIAC Tournament championship game.
The final challenge awaits, and it will be a familiar one as Cal Lutheran is set host No. 2-seed Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, November 7, at 12 p.m. at William Rolland Stadium.
The Sagehens advanced with a semifinal victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, setting up a rematch of last Saturday's regular-season finale, when the Regals handed Pomona-Pitzer its first SCIAC loss of the season with a 2-1 victory to claim the regular-season championship.
The Regals captured last year's SCIAC Tournament championship on Pomona's home field, and now, they'll have the opportunity to defend their crown on their own turf.
